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West Lafayette, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Coming off their worst loss of the season, the 25th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes turn their attention to the Purdue Boilermakers for a Big Ten Conference clash at Mackey Arena. Iowa began its two-game road trip on Tuesday night with a lopsided 82-50 loss at the hands of No. 6 Wisconsin. It was a stark contrast from the same Hawkeyes squad that had won five of its previous six games to climb into the national rankings. Following this tilt, they will play three of their next four back at home. Purdue has been on the losing end of three of its last four contests. Most recently, the Boilermakers were dealt a 66-57 setback at Illinois on Wednesday night. Purdue leads the all-time series, 86-73, although Iowa has won the last two head-to-head meetings. The Hawkeyes were simply outclassed by Wisconsin earlier this week, as the Badgers knocked down nine 3-pointers for the game (.409) and committed only one turnover. Iowa was also outrebounded, 37-23, and made just four free throws, well short of its season average of 17 entering the tilt. Jarrod Uthoff was the teams lone player in double figures, finishing with 12 points. On the season, Uthoff is averaging 11.8 points and 6.4 rebounds in addition to leading the Hawkeyes with 32 3-pointers made (.390). Aaron White, a 52-percent shooter from the floor, is the top scorer (15.6) and rebounder (6.8). However, he managed only seven points on 2-of-5 shooting against the Badgers. Purdue has three players averaging double figures in the scoring column this season, with Kendall Stephens 10.9 ppg tops on the team. Stephens is dangerous from beyond the arc, where he is shooting 42 percent (48-of-114). A.J. Hammons (10.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and Vince Edwards (10.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg) complement Stephens down low. Despite lacking a true go-to scorer, the Boilermakers are putting up a healthy 72.7 ppg and are +6.0 in rebounding margin. Jon Octeus and Rapheal Davis shared team-high scoring honors against Illinois with 14 points apiece. The Boilermakers held Illinois to 28.6-percent shooting from the floor in the first half yet still trailed at the break. The Fighting Illini finished the contest with a huge 21-4 scoring edge at the foul line. . Bryce Harper? He also came into Wednesday without a long ball and hadnt driven in a run. He was hitting .160, had nearly three times as many strikeouts as hits and was dropped to seventh in the batting order. . 1. Did the Senators trade the wrong goalie? Lets make one thing clear: The Ottawa Senators acquired Ben Bishop from the St. Louis Blues for one reason and one reason alone. . Wearing bib No. 1, Maze skied through the gates cleanly to defend her big first-run lead and finish 0.07 seconds ahead of Anna Fenninger of Austria. Defending champion Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany was third, trailing 0. . The Senators return from a lengthy layoff caused by Wednesdays attack on Parliament Hill to host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. . None of them are Finlands Pekka Rinne, who stands as Canadas biggest challenge in Thursdays quarter-final round. Even while a young Finnish team has struggled with penalties, turnovers and a lack of offensive depth, Rinne has been a rock with a 1.Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Martin returned to score 21 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped a 10-game home losing streak with a 110-98 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. Martin missed 34 games after suffering a fractured right wrist on Nov. 19 but led seven Timberwolves scorers in double figures while playing 29 minutes off the bench. Zach LaVine added 17 points in the win, Gorgui Dieng had 16 with 14 rebounds, Nikola Pekovic scored 14 and Andrew Wiggins and Thaddeus Young each had 12. The Timberwolves played without guard Mo Williams and won for the first time at home since a 90-82 victory over Portland on Dec. 10. The NBA basement dwellers snapped a five-game overall losing streak, winning for just the fourth time in the last 31 games. Williams missed the game because of personal reasons, the Timberwolves said. He is expected to rejoin the tteam on Thursday.dddddddddddd Jared Sullinger scored 16 points to lead Boston and Marcus Thornton added 15 off the bench. The Celtics finished 3-3 on a six-game road trip. Martin scored all nine points in a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter that extended their lead from four to 13 with six minutes remaining. He made a pair of 3s during the flurry and scored the rest on a traditional three-point play. The Celtics never got closer than nine the rest of the way. Earlier, they pulled themselves out of a 13-point hole late in the third quarter to draw within three early in the fourth. Bostons last lead was 49-48 at halftime. Game Notes The Celtics beat Minnesota 114-98 at home on Dec. 19 and had won two in a row in the series before Wednesday ... Boston hosts Houston on Friday ... The Timberwolves play in Philadelphia on Friday. ' ' '
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